Crazy Salesguy at Camera Shop

Was at a camera shop in DU on raya eve, looking for a UV filter for my zoom lens. Then I saw the SB800.

I asked him how much for the SB800 speedlight...knowing the market rate is plus minus RM1300.

He said, RM740.

I said, "What? Really?" and caught myself. I tested him. How about RM700 for the filter AND the SB800?

He said, "aah can can.."

I said, "ok...i'll go to the bank to take out some money. u wait ahh"

As i was leaving, he chased me, he said, "Miss..soli...it's not RM740, it's actually RM 1040"

I said, "Ok..RM1000 for the filter AND SB800"

He said OK. I went to the bank and came back.

I tested him again, "My friend said RM1000 expensive la. RM850 can ah?"

He said, "aaa can can.."

Was this dude for real?

So i said, OK lah....pack it up boyy! I couldn't believe my luck. heeheehee..

Then he took the flash from the display cabinet, and informed me, as if our conversation in the past 15 minutes never happened, "ok miss, RM1599."

Nevermind the fact that the RM80 Hoya filter i came in for turned out to be out of stock and he showed me an RM40 alternative which he said was more expensive. (???)

When I reminded him what he agreed with me, he pursuaded me to pay using my credit card.

I told him to stop wasting other people's time and walked out empty handed. No flash, no filter. Just a wad of cash that ended up back in the bank.

He got a good scolding from him supervisor who profusely apologized to me.

aaah well. it was too good to be true anyway. haha.

Selamat Hari Raya, Crazy Salesguy!

Louis II

Test shot with a Nikon D80 and SB800 speedlight. Puas ati...

Selamat Hari Raya & Maaf Zahir Batin from Nadio.

btw, the paper i sat for last Tuesday was tough as hell. argh!

Sleepers

The future lay sparkling ahead...

...and we thought we would know each other forever.

Paper 1: Service Support

I.am.a.nervous.wreck.

I'm aiming for a distinction.

My brain is saturated with info that I'm not even sure I can recall when the time comes.
- KPIs and why
- possible challenges and how to overcome them
- issues to consider when planning for implementation
- process benefits, costs and possible problems
- process relationships

My biggest scare is that I give the perfect answer to the wrong question. Argggh!

I can't wait for this to be over.

Bonne chance, moi!

Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough

I was knee deep in sample examinations, process benefits, costs and possible problems when suddenly this song by Don Henley and Patti Smyth started playing in my head. And now i can't stop singing the tune despite how sad it sounds to me. Hopefully this tune will help when i get stuck answering the Service Support questions next Tuesday. Due to the lack of anything to write, i'll just copy and paste the lyrics to the song here. hehehe....sedih beb lagu ni! Dang...karaoke best jugak ni..hihi

Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough
- Don Henley & Patti Smyth

Now, I don't want to lose you, but I don't want to use you
just to have somebody by my side.
And I don't want to hate you, I don't want to take you
but I don't want to be the one to cry.

And that don't really matter to anyone anymore..
But like a fool I keep losing my place
and I keep seeing you walk through that door.

But there's a danger in loving somebody too much,
and it's sad when you know it's your heart you can't trust..
There's a reason why people don't stay where they are,
Baby, sometimes, love just aint enough.

Now, I could never change you, I don't want to blame you,
Baby, you don't have to take the fall,
Yes, I may have hurt you, but I did not desert you..
Maybe I just want to have it all.

It makes a sound like thunder
it makes me feel like rain..
And like a fool who will never see the truth,
I keep thinking something's gonna change.

And there's no way home, when it's late at night and you're all alone,
Are there things that you wanted to say?
And do you feel me beside you in your bed?
there beside you, where I used to lay?

And there's a danger in loving somebody too much,
and it's sad when you know it's your heart they can't touch,
There's a reason why people don't stay who they are,
Baby, sometimes, love just ain't enough..

Baby, sometimes, love... it just ain't enough.
Oh, Oh, Oh, No

Honey Cornflakes

I got tired of reading about Capacity Management and decided to make some of these. The first batch burnt but through continuous improvement, the subsequent batches got better and better.

:-)

My Thumb

This is my thumb. Ugly, innit?

I've had that rough patch for years, and I never really manage to let it heal properly. I pick and bite in an attempt to make it smoother, but I never succeed. Once in a blue moon I get the discipline to put on some lotion and gloves to let it heal. Then when it's about to heal, I get the itch to start picking on it again, and I'm back where I started - ugly, semi-bleeding thumb. And I tell myself, "nevermind, i'll just start again tomorrow." It's a really bad habit I haven't been able to kick out of my system for many years.

I am fully aware that I have to stop doing this to myself. I need to just let the dead cells form that thick crust on the rough patch so that it can fall off one day and reveal the beautiful, healed skin. But for me, waiting for it to heal is the most difficult thing to do.

I hope someday soon I will realize that leaving it be is the fastest way to make it better.

Moral of the story:
Sometimes it is much better to leave things as they are, rather than try to mess with them and make the situation worse.

Balada Bantal Busuk

dang...i can't get Lan's "Smelly Pillow Ballad" tune out of my head...! I really have no idea what he's singing about but the music sounds just so damn catchy. I believe i can sing it better though, but nevermind that. hihi

Watch out guys...this song is going to be a hit when it comes out. Not in a few months though..i got a copy coz i'm so nice to him.

Anyway, i came across Disaster yesterday. Disaster looked in fact, disastrous. Apart from losing my appetite, i think i did well facing it. Selamat Hari Raya, Disaster, and Maaf Zahir & Batin.

blog surfing last night...i saw a lot of postings about people who are having relationship issues. I also know a friend of mine who is in love with a person who can't seem to let go of the past, but at the same time doesn't seem to want to let go of the present. Tough shit my friend...good luck is all I can say.

Hep C update:
people have been asking what's up...i went to discuss with the gastro guy yesterday, and he said just because they detected the antibody it doesn't mean that I have the virus. So we have to run more tests to find out the details. This will be the last of my Hep C updates on this blog. Everything else will remain private. Thanks for the concern and well wishes, though. :-)

Ok. selamat berbuka!

Gastroente...blargh

Ok lemme try again.

I'm now at the hospital's Consultant Gastroenterologist's clinic to check my liver. G.A.S.T.R.O.E.N.T.E.R.O.L.O.G.I.S.T.

The biopsy on tuesday was as usual. Don't remember a thing other than the sedative injection and waking up with a somewhat sore back.

Core Resource Against Cancer

Donate your CPU power to find the cure against cancer!

Basically, your PC processer is used to generate all the permutations possible of human protein strands and its effect by the drug. If there's a match, then it's like a "hit". Then the drug component will be shortlisted for further testing...and hopefully they'll find the cure for cancer.

Join the team my friend created. It's called "Core Resource Against Cancer." Click here to join and find out more.

The IBM team has 1,500 members... and about 11,000 years of CPU calculation...cool kan?

My Heart

Well call me a softie but that song My Heart that's always playing on the radio is just so damn jiwang.

"...bila kita mencintai yang lain,
Mungkinkah hati ini akan tegar,
Sebisa mungkin tak akan pernah,
Sayangku takkan hilang..."

Vocals not perfect, but the song...man..it makes me want to cry! Even worse, when I attempt to play it on the guitar, my eyes actually start to water..coz all the plucking really hurts my fingers. Heheheh. String murah kot...

Other things going on in my unglorious life:
- BMT this morning
- 15 more days to my certification exam...argh
- am now officially a fan of Radzlan. He plays at Giggers Art Café every Friday night. Catchy songs, untamed lyrics. He says chicks and dudes are all welcome! His gig details here & the cafe's details here.
- am thinking of opening a pet shop in my vicinity
- am thinking of a book title, after brother Kimster's suggestion
- am feeling a bit sick in the stomach after attempting to finish Syed's Nasi Bukhara

..if u love somebody would we be this strong...

Sambung jiwang...adios muchachos! i'll leave you with a glorious photo of the lobster mornay i had in Sydney..